Reasons to love youTube No.11 - Stray Cats - Ubangi Stomp

Here's some great clips of the Stray Cats in the early days doing Warren Smith's rockabilly classic, Ubangi Stomp.

In the first clip Brian knocks the mic stand over during the intro so he lies down on stage to sing into. Classic

Roy Orbison - 75

The great Roy Orbison would have been 75 today. What a voice - if it was good enough for Elvis, it's good enough for me.

My Big O top 5 is.

1. Blue Angel
2. Blue Bayou
3. Only The Lonely
4. Candy Man
5. Sweet And Easy To Love.

Johnny Cash Bootleg Vol.2

Johnny Cash
Bootleg Vol.2 - From Memphis to Hollywood

From Memphis to Hollywood is the second volume in the Johnny Cash's Bootleg series. Again it's a double CD, this time focusing on the Sun Records period of 1954 to late ’57, and his first decade at Columbia Records from 1958 to 1969.
The first CD kicks off with a stunning 15-minute live May 1955 broadcast from KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas hosted by Johnny himself. A mixture of live Sun songs and sponsorship announcements, it's historic value is up there with the Hank Williams Health & Happiness shows that first emerged many moons ago. What struck me was JC's voice when publisising the Home Equipment Company's wares - it doesn't actually sound like him, and it's strange to hear his uncertain manner, compared to the confident narrator he became. There's an Irish butcher's dozen of demos with just Johnny and his acoustic guitar - essential listening for Sun and JC afficianados. The sound quality is really good except for his demo of Rock 'n' Ruby, but it's inclusion is more than justified as it's great to hear Cash in rockabilly mode.
We also seven outtakes from Sun recording sessions, commencing with a driving Wide Open Road. The fun sun of ol JC comes to the surface in Leave That Junk Alone but the pick for me is his cover of Brakeman's Blues and a magical, acoustic rehearsal of Big River, with alternate lyrics. I was really looking forward to hearing his original demo of Restless Kid, a number that I love courtesy of Ricky Nelson. I'd love to have heard him do it with Luther and Marshall, but even so, this is a great demo, with Johnny's vocal sounding so manly compared to Ricky's - they both work equally well though, as the young gun sound of Ricky also fits the lyrics.

The second disc sees the Dyess Dark Dresser move to Columbia and features 23 studio numbers, including non-album singles, outtakes and b-sides (11 tracks of which have been previously unreleased) together with a pair of demos. The sound is crisp and clear with the songs having a spit and polish that seems miles away from disc one. The early highlights are the Johnny Yuma Theme (almost Restless Kid) and The Losing Kind. The single version of Locomotive Man is as good as anything he ever did. Foolish Questions is a rare treat, a funny song that can withstand repeat plays. It's so dry and gives a small insight into a man that obviously suffers fools lightly. Being a Forestry boy I also found a lot to enjoy in The Frozen Logger.

My only critisism of the second CD is that the alternative versions don't differ much from the released takes. But that's being picky - this is a quality release that will appeal to old and new Cash fans alike.

Johnny Cash t-shirt

Are you sick of seeing the same Johnny Cash t-shirt, the middle finger shot. It was great when it first came out but now that's about all you see. Here's an alternative you might like, direct from the good folks at ShakyShirts.

ShakyShirts can offer this latest design for just £9.99.



ShakyShirts ship daily, and strive to have all items dispatched within 24-48 hours of purchase. The tees are custom printed to order, using the latest printing and pressing technology. ShakyShirts only use the best quality t shirts that will not shrink in the wash.

ShakyShirts design their own t-shirts, with an original range that you won’t see elsewhere, thereby giving you a unique look.

Price inc. P&P

Mainland UK £11.49 Europe/Rest of World £13.49

Size

Small Medium Large XL XXL

Colour

White Grey Black

Reasons to Love youTube No.10 - Johnny Cash, Big River, 1962

No need for words, just watch and enjoy some vintage Johnny Cash from 1962 - in stunning picture quality to boot.

Reasons to Love youTube No.9 - Elvis in Tupelo, 1956

Even by youTube's high standard, this video clip is stunning. Historically it's significance is impossible to describe. 13 mintues of Elvis footage, vintage 1956. To top it all, it's the legendary Tupelo Homecoming show. It's probably the most momentous show of the pre-Army Elvis legend, with the three Presley's returning to their hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. By this time Elvis had pretty much conquered the world and had become the biggest star on the planet.

This video gives us a glimpse of what an early Elvis show must have been like. I'd love to buy a shirt like the one he wears, I hear Frank Skinner has one similar for sale!

Great Jerry Lee photo

Just found this great photo on the web. It's from the Killer's Grand Ole Opry debut in 1973. He's sat next to Del Wood with a chunky looking Kenny Lovelace in the background.

Jerry Lee Lewis Highway - Memphis, TN

The good folks of Memphis, Tennessee have decied to rename part of Getwell Road, the Jerry Lee Lewis Highway. Click on the link below to see WMC TV's coverage of the ceremony with the Killer looking frail but proud.

WMC TV Coverage

23 years today - I Saw The Light

Jerry Lee Lewis, Civic Centre, Newport, South Wales, UK
April 16th 1987

It was 23 years ago today that I saw Jerry Lee live for the first time. I still ain't over it yet. The guy was phenominal that night and he became the love of my life. The misses has learnt to deal with it - some things you just can't compete with.

If you thought that the Killer was past it in '87, check out the clip below. His hands were always quick but at the 58 second mark he takes his jacket off so quick you won't believe it!

Elvis Is Back - 50th Anniversary

50 years ago this week, Elvis Presley was in Nashville recorded some of his most amazing work. With a voice that was even better than when he went into the army (if that was possible), and a crack band of Nashville's finest, the material formed either hit singles, or the contents of his best ever album.

Everything about Elvis Is Back is perfect, from the music to the album cover. Even the title was spot - Elvis Was Back - and with one hell of a bang. You must all have it, so chuck it on and groover to the wonders of Such A Night, the beauty of I Will Be Home Again or the blues classic, Reconsider Baby.

April 3-5, 1960
RCA Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee

Fever, Like a Baby, It's Now or Never, The Girl of My Best Friend, Dirty, Dirty Feeling, Thrill of Your Love, I Gotta Know, Such a Night, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, The Girl Next Door Went Awalking, I Will Be Home Again, Reconsider Baby.

Jerry Lee Lewis: European Tour 2010

Diba International Concerts has announced the dates for Jerry Lee Lewis' next European Tour. The tour, also featuring Linda Gail Lewis & Some Like It Hot and the
Memphis Beats will run from July 20th to August 1st. I'n not sure whether any othe dates will be added, but the current itinary is;

20.07.2010 - Laslo Papp Sportarena, Budapest, Hungary
23.07.2010 - Lycabettus Theater, Athens, Greece
28.07.2010 - Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
01.08.2010 - Tampere Hall, Tampere, Finland

I've started telling my misses how lovely she looks and to leave the dishes, I'll do them. Not sure whether that'll get me to Athens, but you gotta try. I've been to Budapest and it's a beautiful city, it would make a great city break, with a Killer concert thrown in.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Lonely Weekends - youTube

The blurb on the youTube page says "Jerry Lee performs an intense version of Charlie Rich's Sun Records hit "Lonely Weekends" on the Midnight Special in 1973".

What it doen't say is that the piano solo is as whacky as the suit. Whatever, it's a magical version with a brass section that says Memphis soul and a yodel at the end that says Nashville country. The Killer fused the two like his enemy/friend down the road.

Rockin' Song of the Week No. 91 - Carl Mann

Carl Mann - I'm Comin' Home
Phillips International 3555

Fifty years ago today, Carl Mann drove across state to from Jackson to Memphis to cut some tracks for a forthcoming album, to be called Like Mann! With his usual buddies Robert Oatsvall on bass and the superbly talented Eddie Bush on guitar, he was joined by Charlie Rich on piano and fellow Jacksonite, WS Holland on drums. The best number they cut that day was the Rich composition, I’m Comin’ Home.

The intro was used note for note when Elvis cut it for his Something For Everybody album twelve months later. Carl Mann was one of the last of the great Sun rockers and this hot little platter was one of his best.

Marshall Grant - I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash

I’m reading Marshall Grant’s book, I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash, at the moment. Published by Cumberland House in 2006, I must own up to borrowing it from Phil, but having got half way through I recommend it to anyone with an interest in JC, Sun Records or country music in general.

Marshall Grant was with Johnny Cash from the very beginning, being a founder member of the Tennessee Two with Luther Perkins. What I love about the book is the stories of life on the road and the pranks they pulled to alleviate the boredom.

He tells of a time in West Texas when JC and the T2 where touring with Elvis and Warren Smith. At a truck stop in Amarillo in the early hours of the morning, Grant put a pile of shaving cream onto a pumpkin pie, leaving Elvis and Johnny doubled up with laughter. They waited in vain for ages for someone to order the pie. In the end they had to leave but Elvis stayed another couple of hours just waiting, dying to see the face of some unsuspecting trucker order the pie. I just love the thought of these two future icons of America, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, sat in this truck stop, two young guys, howling at such a childish prank. The innocence of youth.

Get the book and enjoy other fun stories, but beware. The picture he paints of the pill-popping papa isn't so golden. Depending on whether he was strungout or straight, JC was too very different men.

Elvis 75th Anniversary

Happy birthday Elvis.

As John Lennon said, before you there was nothing. You changed it all, and now every self respecting fan has their own home-made Elvis mosaic hanging on the garden wall. Here's mine.

Popular Tunes Memphis - Better News

Obviously the power of the rockabillyville blog has shamed the Memphian authorities into possibly preventing another slice of music history vanishing like Stax etc

The penis mightier than the sword er hang on that should read....

Flip

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Convention and Visitor's Bureau is trying to preserve the memory of a record store, put on the map by the king of rock and roll, by giving Pop Tunes an official place in history.

Inside the building at 308 Poplar, records can still be seen but none of them are for sale.

Outside is an iconic neon sign and store front that's been at the corner of Danny Thomas and Poplar for years.

Kevin Kane says, "This is where Elvis bought records and this was Memphis' premier record shop for decades."

But the record store that's become a historic symbol of music sold in Memphis, simply known as Pop Tunes, is gone.

Cora Pitt says, "It's disappointing because it's another local business going out of business."

Kevin Kane with the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau says it's a sign of the times. "It was a business decision, of course we hate it for the community, hate it for the historic standpoint, but not totally surprised."

With Generation X downloading music at an exponential pace rather than buying CD's or even vinyl records, Pop Tunes, though once a music selling giant that sold records to a young Elvis Presley, has become obsolete in a changing technology-based world.

Word of the closures came weeks ago after the stores parent company, Music City Record Distributors, closed both Memphis locations.

Some Memphians say they just heard about the closures, and that it's just one more piece of historic Memphis that's in the process of being lost.

Kane says even though the records aren't being sold here anymore, he and the Rock and Soul Museum are working right now to make sure the name and the neon live on.

Kane says, "We think that would be a fitting place from a historical standpoint and obviously it will preserve its memory for future generations."

But as Memphians ponder the thought of a city without Pop Tunes; the future of Memphis, they say, is one that's losing parts of what made it Memphis in the first place. "It's a sign to see how far we still need to go… we have to preserve our city's history."

Flip's Clips No.7 - Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis - Turn On Your Lovelight

Now Shaun and I have several things in common, we are Welsh, we love cats, we support Spurs and Wales, but most importantly of all we just lurveeeeeeeeeeeeee Mr Jerry Lee Lewis. I`ve been a fan since seeing his famed 64 Granada TV show in the mid 60s and Shaun has been a fan for ten minutes or so (;-)) and we`ve seen him in Wales, Scotland, England and Memphis (and the Lewis ranch).

Now Shaun also digs rockabilly bass boppers, Elvis, Shaky, Stray Cats etc and I dig Eddie Cochran, Fats, Dave Edmunds, Chuck n Elvis but when it comes to da Killah it`s a different kettle of fish, he simply is THE man, on record, onstage and in life, totally unique and the greatest of the greats in our humble opinion.

So I thought I better put some Lewis clip up before we get disbarred from the First Assembly Of Lewis church (Ferriday and Wales branch), back when ole El was doing his tv and stage comeback and ole Johhny C and the Everlys had their own great tv shows the legendary Jack Good`s sidekick Rita Gillespie (who workd on Oh Boy, Shindig and the legendary Catch My Soul stage show) came up with some great tv pilots featuring JLL, family and musical friends but sadly as great as they are ( I mean JLL doing Ubangi Stomp fer gawd`s sake) they were not taken up for national syndication, fortunately the tapes survived and the long gone US cable channel Outlaw Music showed them in the 90s, this is one of my fav clips as it features JLL singing Bobby Bland`s classic r&b gem Turn On Your Lovelight whilst playing the drums, yes drums, watch and wonder without further ado!

RIP - Poplar Tunes, Memphis

I was saddened today to read in Now Dig This that the legendary Poplar Tunes Record Shop in Memphis closed down.

John Novarese and Joe Cuoghi opened Poplar Tunes in 1946 at 308 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. It became a part of rock 'n' roll folklore as the place where the young Elvis Presley bought his records, both before and after he got famous. Over the years new stores were opened in the Memphis area, with the newer stores being called "Pop Tunes", whilst the Poplar Avenue original kept the name of Poplar Tunes.

Their website says that, "It was here in the early 50's that a young Elvis Presley would come by after school from his home in nearby Lauderdale Courts to listen to the latest R&B and Gospel records. Just a few years later, Poplar Tunes was the first store to EVER sell an Elvis Presley 45 RPM (recorded just a few blocks away at Sun Studios). As an adult, Elvis continued to shop for his music at Poplar Tunes. Since Elvis' untimely death in 1977, thousands of Elvis fans have made Poplar Tunes a "must see" destination point as they visit Elvis sites throughout Memphis.

The Poplar Tunes building was the business office at one time for Hi Records. This was the record label home for such important Memphis artists as Bill Black, Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles, and Al Green." Joe Cuoghi was a founder of Hi Records.

The Memphis Flyer reported the closing saying, "Ever since the "Superman Dam Fool" graffiti was removed, Pop Tunes has provided the only bright spot on a dim stretch of Poplar that includes the city jail and bail bonds offices and pawnshops galore."
It concluded its article with the chilling reality, "This city's history is fragmenting and disappearing overnight."

It's always sad to read about the passing of the old school record shops, but this one really does spell the end of an era. The frst time I visited Memphis in 1988 the tour bus I was on just passed by the shop and I was desperate to get out and step foot into this slice of history. I was lucky enough to shop there in 2000 with Phil Davies and Ian Calford. America, well at least Tennessee, has an amazing knack of deleting its history. I feel priveledged to have witnessed some of it before it's too late. If it wasn't for the money it generates, I'm sure Graceland would have been flattened for a parking lot. Thanks God Sun Studios was made an historic landmark.

The 1958 picture above shows Elvis at the store with Dewey Phillips and Joe Cuoghi.

Routes of Rockabilly - Various Artists

Routes of Rockabilly – Various Artists
Fantastic Voyage FVTD026

DISC 1
1. Thats All Right (Arthur Big Boy Crudup)
2. Love My Baby (Little Juniors Blue Flames)
3. Freight Train Boogie (The Delmore Brothers)
4. Move It On Over (Hank Williams)
5. Thirty Days To Come Back Home (Ernest Tubb)
6. Drinking Wine Spoli Oli (The Five Strings)
7. Welcome To The Club (Charline Arthur)
8. Country Cattin (Jimmy Swan)
9. Dign And Datin (Gene Henslee)
10. Peepin Eyes (Charlie Feathers)
11. Split Personality (Bill Taylor and Smokey Jo)
12. Juke Box Help Me Find My Baby (The Rhythm Rockers)
13. Im A Little Red Caboose (Maddox Brothers and Rose)
14. Daddys Got The Deep Elem Blues (Jimmie Revard)
15. Who Shot Willie (Arthur Guitar Boogie Smith)
16. False Hearted Girl (Tennessee Ernie and Ella Mae Morse)
17. Jersey Rock (Zeb Turner)
18. Rocking Chair On The Moon (Bill Haley)
19. Thirteen Women And Only One Man In Town (Dickie Thompson)
20. Motor Head Baby (Chuck Higgins)
21. Right String But The Wrong Yo Yo (Piano Red)
22. The House Of Blue Lights (Merrill E Moore)
23. The Milk Cow Blues (Jimmie Rogers Snow)
24. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Elvis Presley)
25. Baby Lets Play House (Arthur Gunter)

DISC 2
1. Cash On The Barrelhead (The Louvin Brothers)
2. Bear Cat (Rufus Hound Dog Thomas Jr)
3. Mystery Train (Little Juniors Blue Flames)
4. I Dont Care If The Sun Dont Shine (Elvis Presley)
5. Get Rhythm (Johnny Cash)
6. My Kind Of Carrying On (Doug Poindexter)
7. My Gal Gertie (Dub Dickerson)
8. Corrine Corrina 1947 Radio Transcription (Bob Wills)
9. Settin The Woods On Fire (Hank Williams)
10. Long Gone Daddy (Lou Graham)
11. Granpaws A Cat (Jimmy Murphy)
12. Catfish Boogie (Tennessee Ernie)
13. Rock A Bye Baby (Skeeter Bonn)
14. Kitty Kat (Bill Mack)
15. Alligator Come Across (Arlie Duff)
16. Rockin With My Baby (Malcolm Yelvington)
17. Movie Magg (Carl Perkins)
18. Feelin Low (Ernie Chaffin)
19. Lie To Me Baby (Johnny Tyler)
20. I Wont Be Rockin Tonight (Jean Chapel)
21. Choo Choo boogie (Kenny Roberts)
22. Fujiyama Mama (Annisteen Allen)
23. Forty Cups Of Coffee (Danny Overbea)
24. Im Coming Home (Johnny Horton)
25. The Rockaway Rock (The Collins Kids)

DISC 3
1. Hound Dog (Willie Mae Big Mama Thornton)
2. Red Hot (Billy The Kid Emerson)
3. Sittin On Top Of The World (Bob Wills)
4. Honky Tonk Blues (Hank Williams)
5. No No Baby (Al Ferrier)
6. Tom Catin Around (Jimmy Selph)
7. Rockin And Rollin With Grandmaw (Carson Robison)
8. Oakie Boogie (Ella Mae Morse)
9. Burning The Wind (Billy Wallace)
10. Dont Cry Baby (Cal Veale)
11. Dig Boy Dig (Freddie Hart)
12. Honky Tonk Man (Johnny Horton)
13. Tennessee RocknRoll (Bobby Helms)
14. Stop Look And Listen (Patsy Cline)
15. Mamas Little Baby (Junior Thompson)
16. Dont Go Baby Don t Go (Al Coker)
17. Take And Give (Slim Rhodes)
18. Crazy Arms (Jerry Lee Lewis)
19. Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On (Roy Hall)
20. Sag Drag And Fall (Sid King and The Five Strings)
21. Catty Town (Pee Wee King)
22. Party (The Collins Kids)
23. Just Because (Elvis Presley)
24. Trucker From Tennessee (Link Davis)
25. Down The Road A Piece (Chuck Miller)



The latest release from the emergent Fantastic Voyage label takes a look at the roads that led us to Rockabilly Central. The musical highways and bye-ways that gave us rockabilly are featured, from the Blues Highway to the Rural Route. Listen to Hank plead the Honky Tonk Blues for the perfect example of both styles in one magical two minute stroll. Not everything in life is black and white though, so we also get a few of the lesser trodden paths like western swing. To top it all we get a handful of songs from the town where all these routes converged, Memphis.

When I got into rockabilly/rock ‘n’ roll in the ‘80s I was soon digging out anything relating to its roots and quickly started to worship at the House of Hank. The likes Ernest Tubb and Tennessee Ernie Ford entered my conscience a little later and never quite thrilled me like the Drifting Cowboy. A big of digging to see what made Elvis tick led me to Arthur Crudup and Arthur Gunter and the jigsaw was starting to come together. There were some brilliant compilations in the ‘80s that shaped the rst of my lifes musical taste. And while that took a lot of collecting and searching, this 3CD set gives it to you in one fell swoop.

Why buy it then? Well, as well as the well known artists mentioned above, there’s a whole host of less obvious singers. Oklahoma deejay Gene Henslee’s 1954 Imperial single Dig’n And Datin’ is a rural rocker with honky tonk piano and a hypnotic shuffle beat. I’ve always loved the great Arthur Smith boogie, Who Shot Willie and there may be some out there unfamiliar with the early Bill Haley gem Rocking Chair On The Moon. I love his Thirteen Women, but here we get the Dickie Thompson original which I can’t recall hearing before. It’s bluesy and Thompson plays a mean guitar.
The second CD has a trio of numbers that might not be known to everyone but will definitely appeal to your taste buds -You’ll love Skeeter Bonn’s RCA Rock A Bye Baby, Bill Mack’s Kitty Kat and Arlie Duff’s superb Alligator Come Across. Johnny Tyler’s Lie To Me Baby is raw, country bopper shows that the Starday label was as hot as any label in 1956.


The only tracks that didn’t hit the spot for me were the two gals Jean Chapel and Charline Arthur and Bob Wills’ Corrine, Corrina. Three poor tracks, perhaps that’s why it sells for £9.99 not a tenner! These three are more than made up for by the stupendously brilliant, Burning The Wind by Billy Wallace. I’ve been saying “ah, play it Mr Gibson” to every acoustic guitar break since I first bought the Mercury Rockabillies album many moons ago.

Released this week and retailing at under a tenner for a triple set, this 75 song set is an absolute steal and will please new fans and seasoned collectors alike. This is the type of set that will stay in the car for years. The road between Pontrhydfendigaid and Aberystwyth might not be one of the Routes of Rockabilly, but it’s certainly heard a bit of it over the years, and with this set in the glove compartment it's going to hear a bit more for some time yet.

New single - Jerry Lee Lewis - Mean Old Man

Today saw the release for digital downplay of Mean Old Man, the first single from Jerry Lee’s forthcoming album on Shangri-La Music. The album will be Jerry Lee’s first country release for decades.

As with many a good JLL song, it’s from the pen of Kris Kristofferson. It was originally on KK’s Repossessed album, but I believe it has now found a home. The Killer once said of Me and Bobby McGhee that it had been done by Kris Kristofferson and Janis Joplin and now that he’d done it, he challenged that it was “open to anyone else that wants to try”. Now, you can say that about Mean Old Man as well.

I know there’ll be a-holes who’ll bemoan the fact that it’s modern country, but I love it. The backing is funky with great electric guitar. No one kicked up a fuss about Johnny Cash going 21st Century, so why not embrace JLL doing it? Much like the American stuff by his old pal, the aged vocals give the words a depth and character that a young singer couldn't. After the closing line “If I look like a mean old man that’s what I am” Jerry laughs “that’s what I am” to which KK confirms “that’s what you are” – great stuff. I talked the other day about Jace Everett's steamy country rocker, Bad Thing, that's the type of swampy song Jerry Lee could nail in his sleep. Mean Old Man is along the same lines and I hope the whole album is full of these sort of numbers.

I wasn’t that excited before Last Man Standing came out because you just knew the guests would take up too much time, but after hearing this I’m really excited and can’t wait for the album. Jerry Lee still kicks ass, and hopefully this album is an ass-kicker that might just get him the new crowd that are waiting for someone to fill the Cash void. I can dream can’t I?

I've just spoken to Jerry Lee nut Phil Flippar to see if my enthusiasm was shared and he's a bit more reserved about it at the moment. He can't get over the fact that there's no piano on it. Hey Phil, Jimmy Greaves could have a good game without scoring. Actually that's a bad analogy, Greavsie never played a game without scoring.